A Tale Of 3 Modern Metagames

This weekend, the three biggest tournaments were all Modern, and they were all on different continents. To get a three-dimensional picture of Modern, we're well served to look at the format from each perspective.

In the US, the top tables of SCG Richmond were a diverse mix of strategies, including a variety of combo, control, and aggro strategies. Here's a look at the weighted Top 32 metagame:

Okay, okay. This is a reasonable-looking metagame, and obviously just looking at the Top 32 is going to reveal a very slanted picture. You do have to get to the top tables before running them, but in general, the top-table metagame is a more important picture to look at for winning the tournament.

What about Grand Prix Birmingham? Will we see Storm, Jeskai, Death's Shadow, Eldrazi Tron, and Affinity at the top?

Whoa. Fifteen different decks in the top 32 of Grand Prix Birmingham is a pretty big spread, and it's not exactly same texture as SCG Richmond. Abzan was also the clear biggest deck of the weekend; there were just two decks hitting double-digit success at the top (the other being Death's Shadow, usually Grixis).

Even the 22 different archetypes listed here understate the diversity of the format. The Blood Moon category includes any maindeck Blood Moon decks, ranging from Skred Red and W/R Prison to Blue Moon and G/R Ponza. Modern would appear to be an incredibly rich landscape, with local metagames having a big impact on the decks at the top.

Despite being the top-performing deck of the weekend, GrixisDeath's Shadow failed to reach the finals of any of the three events. Of course, this is a relatively small sample size, but it's also at least a little evidence of a variety of decks managing to survive the Death's Shadow menace at the end of the day.

There really wasn't much variety among the Death's Shadow decks, so picking one and getting in reps against it should be the first priority for upcoming Modern tournament prep. Beyond that, you really just want to get a diverse mix of playtest games, though I would recommend Scapeshift decks as a second stop.

The primary style of Scapeshift at the moment is R/G TitanShift (as opposed to Temur with Cryptic Commands and such). Simon Nielsen's Top 8 list from Grand Prix Birmingham is a great example:

While Summoner's Pact (for Primeval Titan) is the primary backup engine, Simon also has one copy of Prismatic Omen, changing the potential clock and serving as an extra win condition.

There are other ways to do it, however, so be careful about getting too comfortable playing against one specific build. For instance, Becky Adlman's list features Khalni Heart Expedition, not to mention a white splash for Path to Exile.

Sideboard

I don't think you need all that many games against the latest Storm decks to get a feel for the deck and your matchup. The main thing is understanding the impact of them having seven or eight cost reducers between Goblin Electromancer and Baral, Chief of Compliance.

This makes turn 3 goldfishes very realistic, and turn 4 the expected critical turn. Removal being decent against them is kind of interesting, but if you aren't very fast and aggressive, it doesn't take long for them to turn 4 Gifts, turn 5 Electromancer, and win.

Apostle's Blessing is pretty filthy tech with all the Electromancer types. Being able to protect them for zero mana is going to lead to some pretty ridiculous blowouts.

Nevertheless, I think Abzan has to be the third big deck to test against (even if it means having to set aside Storm). If you only have time to test three matchups, GrixisDeath's Shadow, TitanShift, and Abzan provide a pretty nice range and occupy a substantial chunk of the metagame.

Abzan decks have a pretty wide range of card choices in terms of what they're tuned against, whether they are supporting delirium or not, and whether they are playing any white besides Lingering Souls. Of course, not every Grim Flayer deck is really that much of a Delirium deck. If you're not playing Traverse the Ulvenwald, are you really a Delirium deck? For instance, check out Alberto Galicia's list from Grand Prix Birmingham:

Scavenger Grounds is kind of an interesting way to get a little extra utility out of our manabase. Like Relic of Progenitus in the TitanShift list above, we're sacrificing a little speed, a little reliability in our manabase, for the prospect of big upside when facing graveyard combo decks or Snapcaster Mage. Besides, even just disrupting a Tarmogoyf at the right moment could be relevant.

Once you're in the headspace (and metagame) to bring back Dark Confidant, it's not surprising to see Liliana's Defeat accompanying it. Gotta win the mirror! Being able to kill a Dark Confidant, Grim Flayer, Liliana, Kalitas, Tasigur, or Gurmag Angler for one mana is both efficient and flexible.

While Grixis, TitanShift, and Abzan are the most important decks to prepare for, I would like to touch on a few other decks from this weekend. To begin with, Joao Lelis's GP-winning Bant Knightfall deck is worth a second look, as Knightfall overperformed all over relative to how few people played it.

Spells (10)

Sideboard

It's still hard for me to wrap my head around a deck with nineteen three-drops, but it does make Collected Company pretty ridiculous (even if Retreat to Coralhelm doesn't contribute to the count).

On the other side of the ocean, Loic Le Briand won his GP with a Burn deck. The first 56 cards of most Burn decks are pretty locked in, but Loic's Shrine of Burning Rage technology in the discretionary slot was turning heads all weekend.

It might seem crazy, but I don't actually hate having such a diverse mix of interaction, even if it means trimming Lightning Bolts. Having the option to flashback a spell that gains you three life could easily be worth the added risk of being a mana short of what you need to do. So often, you can make that mana up by playing a shockland, and when you do, you might still be a life the better of it.

Contrast the above list with the Geist of Saint Traft builds, such as Jonathan Rosum's Top 8 list from SCG Richmond:

Once you're on Spell Queller and Geist of Saint Traft, it's not surprising to see burn spells for days. This isn't even really a control deck at all. It's a tempo deck that quickly morphs into a burn deck against slower opponents.

I'm just glad to see Elspeth still getting her money.

Time to switch gears and set about finalizing tuning this Rakdos (Grixis?) Standard deck for Grand Prix Denver. It's my first big event in a few, and I'm super-pumped to switch back into hardcore mode. Hopefully, I'll see a lot of you there!

About Patrick Chapin

Patrick Chapin, "The Innovator," is a member of the Hall of Fame class of 2012. The Pro Tour Journey into Nyx Champion and five-time Pro Tour Top 8 competitor is a renowned deckbuilder and author of both Next Level Magic and Next Level Deckbuilding.